Whispers to the Clouds
by Aikido Kiryuu
Summary: IchigoxKisshu oneshot. When Aoyama breaks up with Ichigo, she feels as if the entire world is over. But when an old enemy comes in her time of need, she realizes that the entire world is just beginning.


Ichigo stood at the empty train station, waiting for her Aoyama-kun. It was getting late now, and he'd promised to meet her half an hour ago. So where was he? Ichigo collapsed on one of the benches, tired. Had he stood her up? No, of course not. Aoyama-kun would never stand her up. Never. At least, she hoped so. Even after all of the times that she'd been late, he'd never been late once. Ichigo was beginning to get nervous, especially as the clock struck nine. Another train pulled into the station, and its passengers got off and dispersed, leaving the station even more quiet than it had been before. Now Ichigo was the only one there, and she was starting to get a little bit frightened. It was dark and it was quiet, and mice were scampering around, giving off false noises that suggested that she wasn't the only one left. "Aoyama-kun…you've never done this before," Ichigo whispered to herself, just to hear the sound of her voice. It reassured her, and temporarily filled the eerie silence.

"Ichigo? I'm so glad you're still here!" Aoyama said, running over to her. "I'm sorry I was late…practice ran longer than I expected." His tone immediately went from relieved to serious.

"Oh, that's okay!" Ichigo said, smiling brightly. "I would have waited here until midnight if I had to!" She attempted to hug him, but he held his hands out.

"Don't, please," he said, sitting down on the bench. He patted the spot beside him. Ichigo was confused, but she took the hint and sat down beside him. She was worried all over again, but for an entirely different reason. This was definitely not a good sign. If he wouldn't even accept her hug…Ichigo wasn't even sure that she wanted to be here anymore. Maybe it would be better if she just shriveled up and blew away…

"Aoyama-kun…?" She asked nervously, looking at him with big, wide eyes.

"Ichigo," he smiled weakly, and took her face in his hands. Then his smile faded, and he let go. "I care about you so much…but…I'm not sure if this is working anymore."

Ichigo's heart rate sped up as she realized what was coming. Aoyama-kun, her Aoyama-kun that had chosen her over all his other admirers…was going to break up with her. She turned away from him, unable to conceal the tears that had begun to form sparkles in her eyes.

"I think that…maybe we should see other people for a while. After all, we're still young, and we haven't really had a chance yet. So I think that we should see other people, and then, if we still care about each other just as much…then we can get back together." It pained him to see her crying, but he knew in his heart it was the right thing to do. After all, they were only sixteen now. And they'd been together for nearly three years. How would they know if it was really love if they didn't see other people?

"Aoyama-kun…are you…breaking up with me?" Ichigo asked, trying to keep her voice from cracking. Three years, and she still hadn't adopted using his first name yet.

"Ichigo…" he smiled at her. "I just want you to have a chance at meeting other boys before you make a final decision."

"B-but I don't want other boys," Ichigo said, sobbing. "I want you…"

Aoyama stood up. "I'm sorry Ichigo…goodbye," he left, unable to look at her pain any longer. He knew that in the end this would be the right decision. Maybe they'd still wind up together, years from now, still in love with one another. But he doubted it. He got on the nearest bus, and rode away from his junior high love, who was undoubtedly still crying over what never would have worked in the end anyways.

Ichigo was still sobbing. She was curled up in a ball on the bench, crying into her knees like the entire world had just come crashing down. And for her, it might as well have. "A-Aoyama-kun…p-please c-c-come back!" She wailed, her sobs echoing all around her. The station might as well have been filled with people, as she didn't even care about how empty it was anymore. Let someone kidnap her. Let her be attacked. Let anything else happen. She wanted anything to happen to her, anything. It didn't matter to her, not anymore. She just didn't want to be around. If it wasn't for him, what was life worth living for, anyways? No one else would understand her Mew powers. He'd been so kind…so understanding…so perfect. They'd been happy. It wasn't like they were fighting or anything, their relationship had been picture perfect. And now it was over. "Why…why?" Ichigo whispered to herself. Another train pulled in, and she pulled herself together so no one would see that she was heartbroken. For ten minutes, she managed to pull herself off of the floor until everyone was gone once again. Then, she started crying all over again.

Ichigo looked up towards the sky, begging for something to happen. "Please, if anybody's listening…please let him come back."

"Ichigo?" A voice asked, cautiously.

She looked up, expecting that her wishes had come true. "Aoyama-kun?" She cried, drying her eyes. Her gaze was only met with disappointment. "Kisshu. It's you," she said flatly. "Go away. Can't you see I want to be alone?"

He sat down next to her, and put an arm around her. "Come on kitten, it's not so awful, is it? He was boring anyways. Too predictable. Don't you want someone more exciting than that?" He felt bad for her. Even though he knew that she would never, ever love him, he wanted to make her feel better, at the very least.

"No!" She sobbed, leaning into him, not caring if she hated him or not. Right now, having another person was nice. "I want Aoyama Masaya!"

Kisshu sighed. "He's not so special, you know. There are other guys. I know it seems like the end of the world when your love rejects you…but it isn't. Life goes on, and people move on. I know." He carefully stroked her hair awkwardly. She was in so much pain that she didn't seem to care or notice.

"How would you know?" Ichigo sobbed, "It isn't like you've ever been in love!"

Kisshu looked away from her for a moment, in pain. "That isn't true. I did love someone. But she never even gave me a chance."

Ichigo suddenly realized what he was talking about, and her eyes widened. It had been her. She had been so in love with Aoyama that she hadn't even been nice to Kisshu. She'd consistently shot him down, and he'd kept on trying to win her over. And in return, she'd been a complete jerk to him. Yet here he was, despite it all, trying to comfort her. She sniffled. "Kisshu…I'm sorry…I never meant…"

"I know, kitty. Love is a funny thing, isn't it. I shouldn't have tried to interfere with you and your human, either. But I did anyways, and I deserved what you did. Don't feel bad."

"I do feel bad, though…" Ichigo said, pulling away from him, wiping her eyes, looking at him, and giving him a weak smile. "I'm sorry. I was such a brat to you."

"Don't worry about it, Ichigo. I'll leave you now, but if you ever need me…just call."

"I'll make it up to you Kisshu, I promise."

"I'll keep that in mind. Byebye, kitty!" He smiled, and disappeared, leaving Ichigo wishing that she'd asked him to stay.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The next day was a rough one, especially at school. All day girls had been asking if Aoyama had really broken up with her, the moment they'd been waiting for since Ichigo had started dating him. She'd had to give them a yes, and pretend that she wasn't hurt, every single time. And every single time had grown harder. She was just sick of it all. Later, though, when she was back at the café, she asked Akasaka if he'd help her make a cake.

"Sure, if that's what you want to do, than I'll be happy to help," he said, smiling, "But just like with the chocolates, remember that I'm only going to guide you through it. You need to do all of the work."

"Of course!" Ichigo said, smiling. She was determined. It would be the least she could do, making a cake for her friend. He'd managed to make her feel better, even when she thought that life wasn't worth living anymore.

Through a long, hard, two hours, Ichigo had produced a cake. The decorating left something to be desired, but she just hoped it tasted okay. She tucked her creation in the refrigerator, and returned to work. After all of the girls had gone home, she would take it out onto the roof, and she would try and see if she could get Kisshu to turn up. She was by no means in love with him, at least, she didn't think so, but she just wanted for him to know that she was truly sorry and thankful. If anything, she wanted to start over. She felt as though she'd found a friend in Kisshu, and was sorry that she had to be miserable to realize that.

Later, she crawled the fire escape up as high as it would go, pushed the cake up onto the roof by standing on her tip-toes, and then grabbed the edge of the roof, and tried to pull herself up. And then, her foot slipped, and she fell backwards, cake falling right behind her, shaken off from her movements. "Ah!" She screamed. Where was the Blue Knight when she actually needed him? Oh right. He broke up with her.

But suddenly, she wasn't falling anymore.

"Careful, kitty. I'm not sure how many lives you have left," Kisshu whispered in her ear, before taking her back up onto the roof. The cake had fallen, and made a mess of the ground below. It didn't matter whether or not it tasted good, not anymore.

"Sorry, Kisshu…that was sort of supposed to be an apology cake."

His eyes opened wide, and he didn't know what to say. "You made me a cake?"

Ichigo grinned sheepishly, "Yeah…sort of. It was just to say thanks for…last night. If you hadn't come along…I'm not sure what I would have done…"

"Well, you didn't need to make me a cake for that, Ichigo. But I'm sure it tasted great."

"I doubt it. It's probably better you didn't eat it anyways…"

"Well they say it's the thought that counts, right?"

"Yeah…" Ichigo said. She was still embarrassed.

"If you really want to give me an apology present…you could kiss me, you know," Kisshu asked hopefully, "But…I know you just broke up with Aoyama, so…"

"I guess it can't hurt," Ichigo said, leaning in to give him a peck on the lips. Then she smiled at him. "Kisshu, I'm willing to give you another chance if you give me another chance."

He broke into a smile. "For real, kitty? So does that mean that you'll finally be mine?"

Ichigo nodded. "Well, sort of. I'm not yours, but…I'm willing to date you, anyways."

Kisshu leaned over to her, and hugged her. "Thank you, Ichigo. I promise, you won't be sorry."

And the two new lovers shared a kiss, on top of the café, beneath the stars that were becoming more and more visible as the sun set.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Ichigo, phone for you!" Ichigo's mother called. Ichigo sighed. She'd been getting ready for her first date with Kisshu- a trip to the movies. Kisshu hadn't been all that happy with the destination, after all, he still didn't entirely understand the human's fascination with fake movies, but he did it to make her happy. Ichigo ran downstairs, and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" She said, breathlessly.

"Hi…um…It's Masaya…"

"Aoyama-kun?" Ichigo asked, confused.

"Yeah…I just…I've been thinking…and I want to get back together with you…I've been on a few dates…and no one can compare to you…"

"Well, that's too bad, Aoyama…because I've got a date. See you at school!" Ichigo said brightly, hanging up the phone. "I'm with Kisshu now," she whispered quietly to the phone, that was now sitting on the receiver. "Sorry Aoyama-kun…but you're too late."


End file.
